Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Jamie’s face flushed. “I was trying to help. She won’t listen to Noah because apparently the pregnant dogs and cows he’s handled over the last decade aren’t the same. She barely listens to Caleb. She says she’ll talk to him when he pushes a baby out of his dick. She treats Rachel like a wisewoman. I don’t think her inability to make birth control work should be more important than Caleb’s medical degree.”
“So don’t offer to help?” He wasn’t getting into the pregnancy stuff. They were far from that. He just wanted her to acknowledge she liked him in an I’m-not-trying-to-piss-my-brothers-off way. “Because I was mostly going to kick the shit out of the asshole who stole her designs and then told her if she wanted to move up in the company, she should blow him.”
“What?” Shane sounded outraged.
“Yeah, I probably should have led with that,” Bay replied. “But I didn’t want to upset her.”
“I want a name,” Shane demanded.
Trev stood up straighter. “All right, now this is where you can’t fix the problem for her. You have to listen to her and accept her feelings and tell her how much you sympathize with her.”
He had not expected that reaction from his boss. Trev seemed so protective. Not only of his kids and Beth. He was protective of Bo and everyone on the G. “I shouldn’t defend her? I’m going to be honest. That’ll be hard for me. I’m not sure what we’re here for if we can’t handle that situation.”
Jamie shook his head. “Not what he’s saying.”
Trev continued. “You listen and hold her and then we quietly take a trip to the city and that fucker gets jumped. Now the key to this is to not take credit. You will want to say something like ‘this is for Brooke’ or ‘don’t touch my woman again.’ Do not. You take him down in the form of a dude in a back alley whose features he can’t remember. But you never tell her. If she sees a news report, you nod and say yeah, baby, we always knew karma would get him. She doesn’t need to know that you were karma.”
“But we’re going to need a name, and I think maybe the way to get her to open up is to show her how nice it can be to have two boyfriends.” Shane pulled out their cell. “I’ll call and order some dinner, and then we can work on her room.”
“You boys let me know when you need to take that trip. I’m sure there’s something we can do in New York,” Trev said, heading for the door.
“Yeah, like hiding because my wife might kill me.” Jamie followed him, talking as they both walked out the door. “I really was worried about her ankles.”
“I told you. You say nothing but ‘yes, baby’ and ‘damn, you look pretty.’” Trev’s voice cut off.
Shane was quiet for a moment, his eyes on the door that had just closed. “You sure this is what you want?”
“Brooke? I thought we talked about this.”
“No, I mean the whole foreman thing,” Shane replied. “Of course we want Brooke, but we have to figure out what to do when she inevitably wants to go back to the city. You’ve never been able to work in a city.”
“Then I won’t work.” He knew it in his bones. “Or I’ll find a way. She’s everything. I know you don’t understand this impulse of mine.”
“It’s called genius. It’s called a gift. It’s not an impulse. It’s who you are and what you do.” Shane’s stare nearly burned through him. “You have a damn calling, Bay.”
“She’s more important.” He didn’t want to think about this right now. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t think we should go into this thing without a plan.”
“Or you can chill.” His brother could be over the top when it came to staying in control. “Look, let’s take it one day at a time.”
Shane started for the door. “Those days are going to go real fast, and she’ll be walking out the door before we know it if we don’t figure out what we can offer her that competes with her career. Not a lot of fashion designers here in Bliss. Anyway, I’ll order the food and get things ready for the picnic. If you need me, I’ll be out at the storage shed.”
“Shane,” he began.
His brother turned and gave him a slight smile. “No worries, right? We go with the flow.”
“That’s not what…” Bay began. But his brother was gone.
He stared at the door for a moment. What had he missed? He didn’t usually miss cues from Shane because Shane always explained it to him. Or did he? Did Bay roll through life expecting his brother would be there? What was in his brother’s head?
He took a long breath and banished the thought. He had some time.